A Shared Mission: Historic New York Synagogue Opens Its Doors to Chabad

Chabad and the historic Park East Synagogue on Manhattan's Upper East Side have announced a broad partnership. Starting this Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi Benzion Krasnianski will serve as participating rabbi alongside Rabbi Arthur Schneier. The arrangement grants Chabad access to a prestigious synagogue in exchange for manpower and young people. The partnership includes educational and community programs.

Chabad and the historic Park East Synagogue on Manhattan's Upper East Side have announced a new, wide-ranging partnership. Starting this coming Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi Benzion Krasnianski, who has led Chabad in the neighborhood for 35 years, will serve as participating rabbi alongside the synagogue's longtime rabbi, Arthur Schneier. Rabbi Yosef Wilhelm, Chabad's emissary to young professionals, will serve as assistant rabbi. The arrangement gives Chabad a rabbinic and operational foothold in one of Manhattan's most prominent Jewish properties, including access to an affluent community and a historic building. In return, Park East will receive manpower and an active network of young people and families. The partnership will include a range of Chabad initiatives, including the young professionals community, the 'Circle of Friends', programs for young families, the kollel, and Chabad at Hunter College. Rabbi Krasnianski and his wife Chani arrived in the neighborhood in the summer of 1991 as emissaries of the Rebbe. The emissaries estimate that some 70,000 Jews live on the Upper East Side. Rabbi Schneier and Liberman described the partnership as an expansion of Park East's mission.